The present invention relates to the field of a single-shot panoramic optical device and, more particularly, to a full flat mirror guiding reflections to an aperture of a panoramic optical device.
Providing high quality optics in a panoramic camera is challenging. Different approaches have been taken for this problem. One approach is to move a lens and to capture a set of images as the lens moves, which cover a field of view over time. The images from the moved lens are combined to form panoramic scene. Another approach is to form an array of multiple different camera lenses and to combine the image results captured by the array of lenses into a single image. Still another is to utilize an ultra-wide angle lens (e.g., a fish-eye lens) to capture a scene with a wider-than-normal field of view. Yet another is to use a panoramic optical device to create a 360 degree horizontal field of view using a single shot (a discrete point of time using a single lens). This later approach is sometimes referred to as a “one-shot” panoramic device, which captures a panoramic scene in a single point in time using a single lens. Each of these approaches has benefits and drawbacks depending on use cases.
Within one-shot solutions that use panoramic optical components, a number of approaches have been taken depending on situation. Frequently, these components permit a single 360 degree image of an environment to be captured. Traditional panoramic one shot cameras place an inverted curved reflective surface in front of an image sensor, to reflect light before directing it to an image sensor. These approaches result in a cumbersome physical configurations and product distorted 360 degree images lacking high fidelity.